Import, Export, and Visualization

Read, visualize, and write STL files and MSI planet antenna files, import or measure pattern data in 2-D and 3-D, reconstruct 3-D pattern from 2-D slices, create interactive polar plots

MSI planet antenna files contain antenna radiation patterns in ASCII text format. Using Antenna Toolbox™ functions, you can read and write data from MSI planet antenna files. You can also extract antenna data from CSV files and plot the radiation patterns and EM fields. You can reconstruct a 3-D radiation pattern from 2-D orthogonal pattern slices data using AI based method. You can import measured pattern data of an antenna and use it for applications involving reflector antennas. To learn how to read, visualize, and write data from MSI planet antenna files see Read, Visualize and Write MSI Planet Antenna Files.

Objects

`polarpattern`	Interactive plot of radiation patterns in polar format
`measuredAntenna`	Use measured pattern data as exciter for backing structures (Since R2023a)

Functions

`smithplot`	Plot measurement data on a Smith chart
`gerberWrite`	Generate Gerber files
`gerberRead`	Create `PCBReader` object with specified Gerber and drill files (Since R2020b)
`msiread`	Read antenna or array analysis data from MSI planet file
`msiwrite`	Write antenna or array analysis data to MSI planet file
`stlread`	Create triangulation from STL file
`stlwrite`	Write mesh information to STL file
`patternCustom`	Plot radiation pattern using spherical coordinate system (phi and theta angles)
`patternFromAI`	Reconstruct 3-D radiation pattern of antenna or array from two orthogonal pattern slices using artificial intelligence (AI) based methods (Since R2024a)
`patternFromSlices`	Reconstruct approximate 3-D radiation pattern from two orthogonal slices
`PatternPlotOptions`	Creates option list to customize 3-D radiation pattern for pattern overlay option
`fieldsCustom`	Plot electric or magnetic field of antenna

Topics

Current Visualization on Antenna Surface
This example shows how to visualize surface currents on the half-wavelength dipole and how to observe the individual current components.
Interact with Polar Plot
Use the interactivity features of a polar plot.

Featured Examples

Read, Visualize and Write MSI Planet Antenna Files

Read a MSI Planet antenna file (.MSI or .PLN). You can read a MSI file using the msiread function and visualize the data using the polarpattern function. You can also write the data back into the MSI Planet format using the msiwrite function.

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Custom Radiation Pattern and Fields

Visualize a radiation pattern and vector fields from the user imported pattern data. Use the patternCustom function to plot the field data in 3-D. This function also allows you to view the sliced data. Alternatively, use the polarpattern object to visualize the field data in 2-D polar format. The polarpattern function allows you to interact with the data and perform antenna specific measurements. You can also plot the vector fields at a point in space using the fieldsCustom function.

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Reconstruction of 3-D Radiation Pattern from 2-D Orthogonal Slices

Reconstruct a 3-D radiation pattern using patternFromSlices function. A 3-D radiation pattern is a very important tool for antenna analysis, characterization, design, planning, and applications. This example shows reconstruction of 3-D radiation pattern from two orthogonal slices for an omni-directional dipole, a directional helix, and imported pattern data of an antenna.

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Reconstruct 3-D Antenna Pattern From 2-D Slices Using Deep Learning

Use deep learning to reconstruct a 3-D antenna radiation pattern from its two orthogonal 2-D slices. It benchmarks this reconstructed 3-D pattern against the results from numerical simulation. Here is an overview of the steps in this example.

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